EDMONDS, Wash. — Edmonds Police are investigating the theft of a South County Fire Ford F-150, which was stolen during a residential fire investigation on Friday and later recovered in Shoreline with minor damage.
The theft occurred around 11:45 a.m. when firefighters were investigating a fire on 76th Ave W, south of the Interurban Trail and adjacent to 240th Pl SW.
The truck was left running with emergency lights activated, as is standard practice, when an unknown man drove off with it.
Four firefighters were at the scene of a house fire investigation, alongside various contractors assisting with boarding up the property and towing a damaged vehicle.
A firefighter had moved the F-150 to allow tow truck access, parking it along 76th Ave W with emergency lights on to alert drivers. Within three minutes of parking, the vehicle was stolen by an unknown suspect, who was witnessed by a contractor hitting another South County Fire F-150 as they fled the scene.
Law enforcement agencies quickly responded, and the vehicle was recovered just after 12 p.m. on Firlands Way N, which is just off SR 99 in Shoreline. This is about 3.6 miles from the area where the truck was stolen.
The vehicle had minor cosmetic damage, and the only item missing was the vehicle’s fuel card.
No emergency responses were impacted by this incident.
This recent incident comes just a week after a suspect stole a fire engine in Everett while crews responded to a medical emergency.
That suspect took the 35,000-pound fire engine on a joy ride, hitting and damaging 10 parked cars in the process.
That suspect has not been caught.
It’s unclear if these were related.
“Like fire departments across Snohomish County and our region, we are very disturbed by recent events targeting emergency services vehicles that belong to and are funded by our community,” said South County Fire Chief Bob Eastman.
South County Fire Chief Bob Eastman mentioned that the department is exploring solutions to enhance fleet security, including potential changes to vehicle engineering, policies, and training.
He emphasized the importance of protecting emergency services vehicles, which are vital to the community.
The suspect involved in the theft has not been located, and Edmonds Police are seeking any information from the public regarding the incident.
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